Beginning April 24, the spouse-to-be no longer comes with a gender requirement.
County recorder offices across the state will issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples beginning April 24, though couples may turn in applications before that date, Dubuque County Recorder Kathy Flynn Thurlow said.
"Our forms have to be redone, though, because they say 'bride' and 'groom' on them," she said.
After April 24, the same rules that apply to heterosexual couples will apply to homosexual couples, she said.
Residents of any state can marry in Iowa. Couples fill out an application at any county recorder's office in Iowa and receive the license three days later. There's an exception to the three-day waiting period if a judge signs a waiver, Flynn Thurlow said.
On Friday, at least one couple walked into the office expressing interest in a marriage application, and several people called the office, she said.
"As a border county, I can see Illinois and Wisconsin residents coming here to get married," she said.
-- Courtney Blanchard
